Tom Kawczynski - Off the Record

I make it a point to read different sources.  Some are from different viewpoints ideologically, some are from different nations, and some are just plain different.  But, I note a recurring theme in some quarters that questions how America can make decisions without regard for what the rest of the world (and by this, I really think this means more their governments than their people) think.  My answer is:  Easily.

I am someone who enjoys communicating and sharing ideas.  I think it is a great thing to work with others, to find common ground, and to realize that there is a shared investment in our future.  After all, we are one species, and our success will ultimately be measured by that same standard.  But for all that, it doesn't mean we should compromise core beliefs for the purposes of being agreeable.

You can either have a system rooted in principle or in consensus.  America, for better or worse, has stood strong based upon clear and easy to understand laws, designed to protect liberty, with respect for the individual, and that cherishes that.  In contrast, consensus seeks to deny the rights of the individual when they interfere with some social good.  They ask sacrifice, but I think we as a people, must choose individually where and when that is warranted.

If every nation on Earth wanted to come together, under no other protection that a well-intentioned bureaucracy, I would work more tirelessly to make sure America remained apart.  We must stand for beliefs, and stand for a simple and enduring hope:  that we are individuals, and will not be treated as anything else.

We will work with others.  We will lead.  Sometimes, we will follow.  But we will do so on our terms, not because we're better than anyone else, but because we believe that what you believe is always more important than who you partner with.  It is why we, as a nation, were first to help the nations rebuild that fought against us.  We are all people, but how we choose to live, that is what makes us American.

There are those who will never understand this and who will denounce us as simplistic and arrogant.  Let us hope we never count ourselves among them, or I fear no nation will stand up for the rights of the few against the dominance of the many or the powerful.